Serena POV:
Lily stayed on the ground, shivering in the snow. She looked up at me, tears welling in her eyes, playing the perfect victim.
"I just wanted to be friends," Lily whimpered, slowly reaching into the pocket of the oversized cloak.
She pulled out a folded piece of fabric and held it up, trying to look innocent.
"I even brought this to show you," she sniffled. "It's the veil I'm going to wear for the mating ceremony. Caleb gave it to me."
She shook the fabric loose. It was a delicate, translucent silk veil, heavily embroidered with silver moon-grass along the edges.
*The moment I saw it, all feeling seemed to drain from my face, leaving behind a mask of cold fury. A hot, venomous anger ignited in my veins.*
It was my mother's veil. It was the veil my mother had worn when she became the Luna of the Ironblood Pack. Before Caleb left for the border, he had begged to take it as a talisman to bring him safely back to me.
*Caleb's face went corpse-white.* He lunged forward, trying to snatch the veil from Lily's hands.
"Lily, put that away!" Caleb panicked, his voice trembling. "I told you not to touch my private chest!"
Lily pulled her hands back, crying louder.
"But you saw me take it out in your tent yesterday!" she argued, her voice echoing in the yard. "You didn't stop me! You said I would look beautiful in it!"
*A predator's instinct took over. I did not run; I simply ceased to be where I was and appeared over Lily in the space of a heartbeat, a blur of motion that only the highest-ranking wolves could perceive.*
I snatched the veil from her hands with a sharp tug.
"You dare touch the legacy of a Luna?" I hissed, my voice vibrating with a low growl.
I looked at Caleb, my disgust clear.
"You cannot even protect the relic of a dead Luna, yet you claim you can protect the border?" I mocked him.
Lily rubbed her empty hands, muttering under her breath.
"It's just an old piece of cloth from a dead woman," she grumbled. "Dead things are unlucky anyway."
A deep, dangerous growl ripped from Caleb's throat. He turned to Lily, his eyes flashing with a violent warning.
"Shut your mouth, Lily," Caleb ordered harshly.
The surrounding warriors in the yard had stopped their training. They were glaring at Caleb and Lily with pure disgust.
Unable to bear the shame, Caleb grabbed Lily by the arm and dragged her away from the yard, slipping on the snow in his haste.
I stood alone, holding my mother's veil to my chest. The faint scent of her was long gone, replaced by the damp smell of the border, but the memory remained.
I vowed to the Moon Goddess right then. I would wear this veil on the day I entered the Royal City. I would restore the honor of my bloodline.
Over the next few days, I prepared for my departure. *I descended into the pack's stone-vaulted storerooms and gathered the remaining medical supplies, herbs, and silver-laced weapons I had bought with my own wealth.* I distributed them directly to the border warriors who were preparing for the winter patrol.
On the fifth day, a loud horn echoed through the valley. *It was not the raw blast of a war horn, but the clear, imperious note of a royal trumpet.*
I walked out to the main courtyard to see a massive procession entering our gates. *Dozens of armoured royal guards marched in chilling synchronicity, their movements precise and economical. Behind them, ten large wagons, pulled by giant draft horses with hooves like dinner plates, were laden with chests of gold, bundles of high-tier magical beast pelts, and crates of rare healing potions.*
The captain of the royal guard stepped forward and bowed deeply to me.
"Lady Serena," the captain announced loudly. "King Alexander sends these courting gifts to ensure your journey to the Royal City is comfortable."
The entire fortress went completely silent. The sheer wealth displayed in the courtyard was enough to feed our pack for a decade.
Just then, Caleb walked through the gates holding a cheap parchment envelope. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the mountains of gold and pelts.
*He approached me, his confusion plain on his face.*
"Serena... what is all this?" Caleb asked, looking at the royal guards. "Are these... gifts?"
I took the cheap envelope from his hand. It was the invitation to his mating bonfire.
I looked at him with a calm, indifferent expression.
"No, Gamma Caleb," I lied smoothly. "I am simply organizing my mother's old dowry for my journey. You may leave now."
I looked at Caleb’s confused face and smiled. He had no idea that in seven days, I would be gone—and that the King’s gifts were not my mother’s dowry. They were courting gifts for a woman he had just rejected.
Let him wonder. Let him drown.
